Common Heart

Common Heart operated 13 pantry outreached in 2023 across union county nc. These pantries served 14.393 unique individuials an average of 4 times a year. 73.4 of the estimated food insecure residents in union couty received food from Common Heart. Our goal is to remove all barriers to receive this assitance and so we provide a combination of 4 evening pantry, 4 morning pantry, 4 neighborhood pantry and 2 delivery based pantry locations. Our legacy delivery pantry, Common cupboard, focuse on delivering groceries and creating supportive friendships. The unique dynamic of our pantries is the infusion of intentioanl active kindness creatinglationships across socioeconomic, cultural and racial boundaries.

2023 was our 17th annual great turkey countdown utilizing over 500 volunteers to gather and deliver a turkey and all the fixins for a low income family to prepare for thanksgiving. This is a major community underaking as we engage local churches, business and our friends on facebook to donate the turkey, fixins or cash to be used to buy these items. Volunteers to pack and deliver the food. We provided thankskgiving to 1,550 families, 8,190 of our neighbors. We delivered over 62,000 pounds of food for thanksgiving this year

Economic empowerment programs of Common Heart are designed to empower families experiencing the low resources environment of poverty and food insecurity to become more stable and upwardly mobile. The onramp is getting ahead in a just getting by world ga which is proven to increase stabilty and resources to create new futures for families experiencing poverty. Graduates of this program are offered seven free coaching sessions to assist them to achieve goals and plans set in ga. during the next 12-18 monthys we engage graduates with over 15 10- 20 hour workshops to build on their ga experience and monthly resource building gatherings. Through participating in these learning opporutnities, achieving goals and volunteering participants have opportunity to gain a 500 emergency savings account. Training is also provided to the community at large assisting professionals and volunteers to create better outcomes in their service to underresourced famlies.